By ROBERT GAVIN

Published 6:50 pm, Monday, November 22, 2010

ALBANY -- A 25-year-old South End gang member pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges Monday, the latest in an expected series of convictions in the case against the Original Gangsta Killas street gang.

Elijah Sims of Albany, known as "E" and "E-Head," entered his plea more than two weeks after writing a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe asking for leniency.

In his plea agreement, Sims admitted conspiring to deal more than 50 grams of crack cocaine after joining the "downtown" gang, known as "OGK," in 2000.

The agreement identified Sims as a "narcotics distributor" of cocaine and marijuana for OGK. It noted his possession of 24 bags of crack in December 2004 as well as several crack deals to informants through August 2009 in Albany's South End.

Sims technically faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine but would likely receive a far less stringent penalty under federal sentencing guidelines.

He becomes the fifth person to plead guilty in the 25-defendant case -- and the fourth this month. The others are Winfield "Champ" Nicholson, Alfonzo "Fat Fat" Parker, Kanan "D-Black" Tatro and Owen "Diz' Furthman, who pleaded guilty earlier this year.

The Times Union reported Nov. 9 that most of the defendants in the case are expected to plead guilty. The swarm of guilty pleas comes as federal prosecutors in Albany have evidence that includes statements from defendants, surveillance, Internet videos of gang members and letters sent from prison that were seized by authorities.

Seeking leniency, Sims wrote his letter to the judge from the Columbia County jail on Nov. 11. Sims told the judge his father had been in and out of prison since he and his siblings were "babies," which left him rebellious and "lost." He turned to people in his neighborhood for guidance he did not receive from his father, he wrote.

"From my teenage years up until this point in my life, I've been left with a big void," he wrote.

Sims stated his girlfriend gave birth to his daughter two months after he was arrested in October 2009. He wrote he is not a "menace to society," can contribute to society and suggested 10 years behind bars would be too long lengthy for what he described as "mere association" in the case.

"I am a man of integrity and know that the law is the law. But please show consideration for me, not out of pity but a man torn down by bad circumstances," he wrote, adding, "I am hoping and praying for time (already) served to be handed down to me, but if not please understand that more time is not the correction to my situation. I appreciate you taking the time out to review this letter and that I am praying for you."